The Reapers Tale
by GrayKnight3445
Summary: This is the tale depicting the origins of the Grim Reaper.


_The Reaper`s Tale_

You open your eyes, awaking from a vivid dream that you cannot, or will not, remember. Upon standing you look around, observing your surroundings. You find yourself at the entrance of a dark fortress in the middle of a vast, barren land where the sun does not show, the few trees that dot the land are shriveled and dead, the ground is cracked and dry, and the land is cast in the gloom of grey and the atmosphere depressive. You see a wolf like beast feeding upon the corpse of creature, fearing for your life, you run into the fortress.

Upon entering the fortress, you pass through many dark hallways and pass row upon row of figures shrouded in pitch black robes with glowing, malevolent eyes that make your spine tingle, all the while you wonder where you are and how you got there.

You now stand before a great oak door with a gargoyle in cold steel armor covered with glyphs guarding it, you stop, thinking that the creature will attack, but it lets you past through the now open door. As the door slams shut as you pass through, you see another dark robed figure standing by a large arced window, outlined by the light of a dark moon. It turns to you, and a dark voice speaks.

"_Hello their child_," it says, "_you have traveled a long way to come here, please rest by the fire, for it is cold outside, and do have something to drink_." As the words fade, a flame bursts from a fire place that was not there before, and a full cup upon a table in between two chairs appears.

You sit in one of the chairs and take a sip from the cup. A warm, sweet liquid fills your mouth as you drink. The dark figure then appears on the chair beside you. You immediately notice that your host is different from the dark figures from the hallways, this one is much taller with a pair of skeletal wings on its back, and as you stare into where its face should be, you find no glowing red eyes.

"_You like the drink_?" he asks you, you nod slowly, still trying to figure out who your host is. "_It is my own special concoction. Would you like to hear a story?_"

You are taken by surprise by the question, but you nod slowly again.

"_Excellent_," he replies joyously, "_I shall tell you of the being known as the Grim Reaper._" Your host takes a moment, letting the words sink in.

"_The Grim Reaper_," your host begins, "_the figure of death to mortal man, beast, and monster. He is thrown into the annals of myth and history as an evil and malevolent creature of darkness. But he was not always like this, once he was a friend to all who walked the Earth._

_You see, when God first created the Earth, Death was released into the world, God send one of his many angels to guide the deceased souls to the Heaven and gave the angel a holy staff made from the Tree of Forbidden Knowledge to fight the dark creatures with._

_In that time, Death was not grieved and lamented. It was a celebration, lavish feasts and joyous parties were given to those who had passed on. And the Grim Reaper was always the guest of honor. Now also in this time, the Reaper was not as he is now. He was beautiful once, the object of every woman`s fantasies, the envy of every suitor, all loved him, save for one._

_There was a man who envied the angel`s beauty and grace, which caused him to desire its end._

_The man went into the dark of night, and bought a vial of poison from a vampire who agreed to spare the man if the he gave the one he poisoned to the vampire._

_The man poisoned his wife and child`s drink the next night. And at the party the village threw for deceased ones, when the angel came to take their souls to heaven, he lashed out at the angel, calling it evil, and telling his neighbors and anybody else who would listen that death should be feared and hated for what it was, a plague to the living. _

_Unfortunately, the man succeeded, and the angel was cast from the village. Once the angel had departed, and the party goers sleeping in their homes, the man took his wife and child`s unburied and rotting bodies to the vampire, who drank their blood and they too became vampires._

_Saddened by the wicked man`s outburst, he began questioning his purpose in the mortal world and what he was doing in it._

_Several months later, God sent the angel to slay a vampire who was massing an army to do who knows what. _

_Now this vampire was the same one who gave the man the poison he had used on his wife and child, so it knew which words to use against the holy creature. When the angel confronted the creature, the vampire spoke all the right words to make the poor angel feel like he was a monster. _

_Then, in its moment of self doubt, the vampire attacked, poisoning the angel with his dark bite. Upon seeing what was unfolding, God sent an army of angels to stop the vampire and his army, a battle ensued. When the combat subsided, the angel was lying on the blood stained ground, pained wracked its once holy body. God himself came to the field, and attempted to heal the angel. Unfortunately it was too late for even God`s power to be of use, the angel was too far gone._

_Now at this point, God was, as you would say, between a rock and a hard place. He had a fallen angel that still has a trace of holy essence left in it, so God couldn`t kill it, least He anger cosmic powers that even a god would tremble before. But on the other hand, if He let the angel go free, the consequences of would be horrid to say the least._

_So God did the next best thing. He created a new dimension that He dubbed, the 'Land of Shadow', a middle ground in between Heaven and Hell. But this would be more then the angel`s prison, it would be the new 'home' for all the dark creatures of the world._

_I apologize for the interruption to our tale, but I feel that I must stress that the difference between Darkness, Light, and Evil._

_Hell and Heaven are opposites, dreaded enemies to the end, but the Darkness is the middle ground, the Grey Area of you will. The creatures of the Darkness don`t answer to a single authority like angels or demons, who answer to either God or Satan. They are rogue creatures that care not for Light or Evil. But while in the Land of Shadow, they found themselves drawn to the angel, feeling that it, like themselves, were outcasts, freaks. They comforted the angel as it tried to come to terms with God`s abandoning of it. And the years went by, its spirit became cold and twisted as it dwelt on the wicked man`s words, and its features grew more gruesome._

_Its pure white robe became an ever darkening grey, its alabaster skin turn molted and rotten, its wings began to wilt, its staff a knarled scythe. In a last desperate attempt, it called to Lord of Evil, Satan, asking him to free it from the Land of Darkness. But Satan refused for the same reason God shunned the angel, its Holy Essence. It was against the Laws of the Universe for a creature with Holy Essence to stand under the Banner of Evil._

_Devastated, it vowed eternal vengeance on both God and Satan. The dark creatures rejoiced when they heard the angel`s vow, and they dubbed it the King of the Dark Places and built him a great fortress. And as the Iron Crown touched the angel`s head, it renamed itself, the Grim Reaper, and swore to its subjects that they would return to the mortal world and claim it for themselves."_

Your host takes a pause, allowing you to process all that you had just heard.

"_Today_," your host continues," _he is a ghost of his former self. His robes are a pitch black. His flesh is gone; all that remains are his once holy bones. His staff, now a scythe with a blade of the darkest steel. And his face, all but shrouded by a veil of darkness. He now walks the mortal world once every year, specifically on the holiday known as Halloween, as an evil ghost, a specter of evil. None see him, save for those dying or dead_."

"_You may be wondering, 'how do you know this?' Am I correct_?" your host asks you as the tale ends, you reply with a yes. "_I will tell you. I know this because I am that angel, I am the Grim Reaper. And once every ten centuries I tell my sad tale to one mortal who will join my army of darkness, and I tell them the tale of my past, so they may know of their new master_."

"_Now, sleep my servant. Sleep until I call upon you again_." You eyes close as you panic at the future of eternal servitude looks upon you.

A hundred years later, you look at yourself and marvel at your change. You yourself are dressed in a dark robe, and your now skeletal hands hold a dark sword. You look at your surroundings and see an army of dark beings like you, along with legions of skeletal warriors, flights of gargoyles, packs of werewolves, and swarms of screaming banshees. And in front of this great horde, the Grim Reaper floats, a vanguard of vampire knights surrounded him.

"_Creatures of the Darkness_," he calls to you and your ghastly brethren, "_beings of night, my fellow outcasts. Ever since that fateful day, we have been cast to this desolate place, shunned by both God and Satan. For a million millennium we have been stuck in this...this prison. With God only allowing me to walk the mortal world on the day of All Hollow's Eve. But no more! Upon All Hollow's Eve this year, we shall march upon the mortal world, Heaven, and Hell and take them for ourselves and we shall finally inherit what is rightfully ours. We shall show God and Satan their folly and we shall make them our servants_!"

A great, blood curdling cry emanates from the Legion of Darkness as a swirling portal gate opens behind the Reaper. "_Follow me my loyal warriors, follow me and we shall inherit all that is owed to us_!"

As one, you and the great army march towards the swirling portal gate. And as the first cold footstep touched the grass, the War of the Dead begins.


End file.
